DIII-D Research Operations annual report to the US Department of Energy, October 1, 1993--September 30, 1994

The DIII-D tokamak research program is managed by General Atomics (GA) for the US Department of Energy (DOE). Major program participants include GA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the University of California together with several other national laboratories and universities. The DIII-D is a moderate sized tokamak with great flexibility and extremely capable subsystems. The primary goal of the DIII-D tokamak research program is to provide data for development of a conceptual physics blueprint for a commercially attractive fusion power plant. In so doing, the DIII-D program provides physics and technology R&D output to aid the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the Princeton Tokamak Physics Experiment (TPX) projects. Specific DIII-D objectives include the achievement of steady-state plasma current as well as the demonstration of techniques for radio frequency heating, divertor heat removal, particle exhaust and tokamak plasma control. The DIII-D program is addressing these objectives in an integrated fashion in plasmas with high beta and with high confinement. The long-range plan is organized with two principal elements, the development of an advanced divertor and the development of advanced tokamak concepts. These two elements have a common goal: an improved demonstration reactor (DEMO) with lower cost and smaller size than present DEMO concepts. In order to prepare for this long-range development, in FY94 the DIII-D research program concentrated on three major areas: Divertor and Boundary Physics, Advanced Tokamak studies, and Tokamak Physics